Mika Hakkinen points the finger at Sergio Perez amid alarming Red Bull slump

Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.

As Red Bull battle to recapture their form, Sergio Perez not being up there with Max Verstappen is having a “very negative” impact on that process, claims Mika Hakkinen.

Red Bull started F1 2024 in the dominant fashion which they had become known for in Formula 1’s ground effect era, but that momentum has faded, with the team on a run of no wins in their last six races, as McLaren and Ferrari move into position for a Constructors’ Championship challenge.

Mika Hakkinen criticizes Sergio Perez amid Red Bull struggles

Perez has been on a mission to escape his own performance issues after the summer break, as Red Bull look to rectify an RB20 car which Verstappen, the F1 2024 Drivers’ Championship leader, has called a “monster” with balance issues setting in.

And two-time World Champion Hakkinen says it is a “fact” that Perez  underperforming is preventing Red Bull from collecting the crucial two-car data they need to rebound.

“Myself, being a racing driver in the past, and start talking about another driver, and especially criticizing another driver, it’s never a pleasant story to say,” Hakkinen told Unibet.

“But Formula 1 is a very cruel sport, and there’s two drivers in a team, and these two drivers are naturally competing with each other before they start competing with others. And in this case, the gap between Max and Sergio has been increasing constantly.

“And what that means is you don’t get the data. You don’t get the information from both cars to be able to develop the car as quick as what is required, and that has been really a downside for the development of the Red Bull team.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez head-to-head in F1 2024

F1 2024: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

F1 2024: Head-to-head qualifying record between team-mates

“Like I said, it’s challenging to criticize a driver and I try to avoid criticizing. I just want to tell the fact. You need two flat-out drivers for the team to able to compare the data and the different adjustments what they do aerodynamically to the car, or mechanically what they do to the car.

“You need to constantly compare, and during a race weekend, the time is quite short, so just the one car is not able to move the team forward. You need two cars. You need two drivers. And Sergio Perez has not been able to deliver this for the Red Bull team and it has been influencing the success and this has been a very negative thing.

“Sergio Perez has been a long time in Formula 1. It’s not the first year or second year. He has been there a long time. He had the chance to study himself, to understand himself. What does he need to be the number one? And he has failed to do that.

“And I don’t want to say that he doesn’t have a talent to drive. I think all the other parameters has not been able to support Sergio to come in a level where he needs to be, to match Max Verstappen and to deliver what the team is requiring him to do to be able to build a winning team.”

Perez sits P7 in the current F1 2024 Drivers’ Championship standings, 160 points behind Verstappen.

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